The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-03-26
CREMATION OF GLACIERS.
,,ov Masses Of Ice Formed Above tho
snow. Line Descend Into Valleys.

uRN
III" snov.Line Descend Into Valleys.
The materials of the glaciers are de-
,irol from the snow which falls during
,ho summer as well as winter OH the
summits of high mountains. Every
trash fall of snow adds a little to the
hpipbt Of the mountain, and, were there
no AGENTS at work to get rid of it, the
Mountains would be gradually rising
ia an indefinite elevation. AvalanchcS
and glaciers, however, carry the snow
into warmer regions. where it is re-
durcd to water: in the one, the snow
Sins from the steep mountain slopes,
and PUSHES wildly down; in the other,
it gradually drscends, and is converted
into ice in its progress. The snow
which forms the glacier at its origin
has a very different appearance and
consistencr from the ice of which it
consists at lis lower termination. The
minute state Of division of the
ice. in its snow condition. and the
quantity of air intcrspcrscd through it,
gives it its characteristic white color.
Two causes operate i'll causing this
change into ice; first, pressure cXpcls
the air by bringing the particles of the
lower layers of snow more closely to-
gcther; and, second, the summers heat
melting the surface, the water thus OH
tanned pcrcolatcs through the mass
beneath. and as it paSse, among the
particles whose temperature is below
thirty-two degrees, it increases their
size by external additions till the
particles meet, aud the whole becomes
a solid mass.
The most remarkable feature Of
glaciers is their motion. The con-
tinucd waste of glaciers below the
snow-linr, both along its surface and
at its extremity. is ever being repaired.
so that tie glacier docs not rccede
from the valley, nor decrease in depth.
That the materials of the separation
are not derived from the fall
Of the winters snow, and
the influence of the winters
irost, i, evident, inasmueh rs these adj
ditions speedily disappear with the re-
turn of the summers heat, and in the
end form but Il small proportion of the
years total loss. The true repairing
agent is the motion of the glacier.
which brings down the glaciticd snow
from the upper regions TO BE- melted
below. To account for this motion,
C~harpanticr supposed the water which
saturated the glacier in all its parts,
and filled the inuumcrablc capillary
~isSurrs, was. during night and during
winter, frozen. and that the WELL
known and almost Irresistible cXpan-
sion which would take place in the
conversion Of water into ice, furnished
force necessary to move the glacier
forward. Agassiz accepted this theory
for a time, but ultimately abandoned
it. The theories advanced by De Saus-
Forbes, Tyndall and others,
have not proven altogether satisfac-
tory.
Glaciers are not necessarily peculiar
to any country IL zone. but wherever
there are mountains of sufficient height
may be expected that they may exist.
In Europe, they are chiefly confined to
the Alps and Norway. Having their
origin in the region of perpetual snow,
they reach far down into the valley,
the largest pushing themselves furthest
down. That of Blossoms at Chamouni,
which comes from the highest peak of
Mont Blanc, reaches II point 800 feet
the SHOW -liuc, where it is en-
amongst luNuriant wood. and
IS almost in contact with corn-ticlds.
Iceland and S~pitzbcrgcn also abound
IN glaciers. 1t is in such northern To-
eallties that the ends of the glaciers,
on the waters of the ocean,, get
broken off by TRAVERSE crcvasses, and
1oat away 40 icebergs. - Toledo Bladc.